Anna’s Hummingbird Nest Cam 2013

The hummingbird nest cam showed that it is tough for these little birds to safely raise chicks. Since then, we have watched several Anna’s Hummingbird nests fledge one or two chicks. Young hummingbirds continue to come through the yard, trying out flowers and feeders.

But here’s what happened in 2013.

First Anna’s Hummingbird Nest cam – April 2013

With the first Anna’s Hummingbird Nest cam, the mother hummingbird reused an old nest in our yard. Two sets of two chicks had fledged from that nest in 2012. But in 2013, she arrived to rebuild the nest after a pair of Curve-billed Thrashers (native desert birds) had built their new nest in the same Texas Ebony tree.

Our bird books and Wikipedia list Curve-billed Thrashers as eating insects and seeds; these Thrashers taught us that they also take nestlings. The Thrashers eventually tore apart the nest and took the hummingbird babies. The mother hummingbird defended the nest, but she was many times smaller than the big birds. (Thrashers are smaller than crows but larger than Mockingbirds.)

The mother hummingbird abandoned the nest. Within hours, she was collecting spiderwebs in the yard and flying away. She visited the backyard feeder many times, so we think she started over nearby.

Second Anna’s Hummingbird Nest cam – May 2013

With the second Anna’s Hummingbird Nest cam, a different Anna’s Hummingbird built her nest in a neighbor’s Juniper tree.

When the babies were two weeks old, the mother hummingbird did not return. This was very unusual for a hummingbird and a bad sign. The chicks began to call in distress, something they do not normally do from the nest. Viewers on the nest cam alerted us to the situation. We contacted wildlife rescue organizations and followed their directions: emergency fed the babies, waited hours for mother’s return, cut down the branch with the nest, and delivered the branch, nest, and babies to rescue.

Here is a video showing the hummingbird babies’ arrival at Wildwing Rehabilitation.

We watched for the mother but she never returned. Kestrels come through our neighborhood and roost on the same Juniper tree. But we do not know what happened to her.